Bitcoin mining profitability plunged to record lows in late 2025 as the hash rate dropped below $35 per petahash per second, while production costs rose to $44.8 per petahash. This forced miners into payback periods over 1,200 days and drove a major industry shift, with 70% of top mining companies now earning revenue from artificial intelligence infrastructure.

November 2025 marked a turning point for the global Bitcoin mining industry. A confluence of collapsing margins, regulatory pressure, and strategic pivots reshaped the sector’s landscape. Here are the five key trends that defined the month.

Profitability Hits Historic Lows

Network hashrate surged to a record 1.1 ZH/s in October, intensifying competition. Meanwhile, Bitcoin prices dropped to around $81,000, crushing margins across the industry. Machine payback periods have stretched beyond 1,200 days.

MARA CEO Fred Thiel issued a stark warning about the industry’s future. After the 2028 halving reduces block rewards to roughly 1.5 BTC, most business models will collapse. Only miners with access to cheap energy or successful AI pivots will survive, he said.

Financing costs continue to rise as traditional mining revenue shrinks. Even companies transitioning to AI cannot yet offset the decline in Bitcoin income. The squeeze is forcing urgent strategic decisions across the sector.

AI Pivot Accelerates

Seven of the top ten mining companies now generate revenue from artificial intelligence. AI hosting yields already exceed traditional mining returns by roughly 50% per megawatt. The shift is reshaping how the industry measures success.

Bitfarms announced it will phase out Bitcoin mining entirely within two years. Its Washington State facility will be converted into an HPC data center by December 2026. CEO Ben Gagnon said potential returns could surpass all previous mining income.

IREN secured a landmark $9.7 billion, five-year GPU cloud computing agreement with Microsoft. The deal includes a 20% upfront payment. IREN will deploy NVIDIA GB300 GPUs at its Texas facility starting in 2026.

Hut 8 sold four Canadian natural gas power plants totaling 310 MW to TransAlta. The move aligns with its strategic shift toward Bitcoin mining plus HPC infrastructure. CleanSpark aims to become a comprehensive compute platform serving both AI and BTC.

Massive Capital Restructuring

A wave of convertible note issuances is sweeping the industry. CleanSpark raised $1.15 billion at 0% interest. TeraWulf completed a $1.025 billion offering, also at zero percent.

Cipher Mining issued $1.4 billion in senior secured notes at 7.125% yield. IREN plans to raise $2 billion through two separate convertible bond offerings. Bitfarms completed a $588 million convertible debt issuance.

Equipment commitments are equally massive. IREN signed a $5.8 billion agreement with Dell to procure NVIDIA GB300 GPUs. Cipher expanded its Fluidstack agreement, with Google providing $1.73 billion in guarantees.

Canaan secured a $72 million strategic investment from BH Digital, Galaxy Digital, and Weiss Asset Management. The funds will support high-performance computing and the development of energy infrastructure. The company aims to reduce future financing dilution.

Regulatory Polarization

Malaysia has uncovered approximately 14,000 illegal mining operations over the past five years. Stolen electricity has caused roughly $1.1 billion in damage to the state utility TNB. A government task force was established in November to intensify crackdowns.

Russia is deploying AI technology to combat illegal mining. State grid operator Rosseti embeds AI analytics into smart meters to detect power anomalies. One recent bust involved $1.5 million in stolen electricity.

Yet some governments are embracing mining. Japan launched its first government-linked project through a major regional utility. Canaan will deploy water-cooled Avalon miners for grid load balancing by year-end.

Belarusian President Lukashenko declared cryptocurrency mining a national priority for electricity usage. He suggested that crypto could serve as an alternative to reliance on the dollar. About 60% of Russian miners remain unregistered, prompting discussions of an amnesty.

Strategic BTC Accumulation

Leading miners are stockpiling Bitcoin rather than selling into the market. MARA holds 53,250 BTC valued at approximately $5.6 billion. The company ranks second globally in public Bitcoin reserves.

CleanSpark reported total holdings of 13,054 BTC as of November 30. Monthly production reached 587 BTC in November alone—year-to-date mining output totals 7,124 BTC.

Cango holds 6,412 BTC with an explicit commitment to long-term holding. Bitdeer increased its reserves to 2,233 BTC after mining 511 BTC in October. Canaan reached a record 1,610 BTC and 3,950 ETH.

The accumulation strategy signals confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value. Miners are betting that surviving the current profitability crisis will prove rewarding. Those who hold through the squeeze may emerge as the biggest winners.

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Central banks purchased a net 53 tonnes of gold in October 2025, a 36% month-over-month surge that brought the monthly total to the highest of the year.

This aggressive gold accumulation reflects growing concerns over macroeconomic uncertainty and a strategic shift away from traditional dollar-denominated assets.

Record Gold Purchases Signal Strategic Shift

According to World Gold Council data, central banks purchased a net 53 tonnes of gold in October alone—the highest monthly demand this year—led by Poland, Brazil, and emerging market economies.

Central banks acquired 254 tonnes year-to-date through October, making 2025 the fourth-highest year for gold accumulation this century. This trend highlights concerns about economic stability and currency diversification.

The National Bank of Poland led the activity, buying 16 tonnes in October. This brought Poland’s reserves to a record 531 tonnes, or about 26% of its total foreign exchange reserves. Brazil also bought 16 tonnes, while Uzbekistan added 9 tonnes and Indonesia acquired 4 tonnes. Turkey, the Czech Republic, and the Kyrgyz Republic expanded by 2 to 3 tonnes each. Meanwhile, Ghana, China, Kazakhstan, and the Philippines increased holdings, and Russia reduced its reserves by 3 tonnes to 2,327 tonnes.

Central banks are ramping up gold purchases:

Global central banks purchased +53 tonnes of gold in October, the most since November 2024.

This marks a +194% jump compared to July, and the 3rd-straight monthly acceleration.

In the first 10 months of the year, central banks have… pic.twitter.com/7pZWyEjjvf

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 4, 2025

95% of surveyed central banks expect reserves to climb next year. Serbia plans to nearly double its gold reserves to 100 tonnes by 2030, while Madagascar and South Korea are considering similar expansion. The sustained demand remains despite high gold prices, emphasizing gold’s strategic importance in uncertain times.

United States Establishes Bitcoin as National Reserve Asset

The trend is now spilling over into digital assets. As sovereign institutions diversify their reserves, Bitcoin is increasingly entering the conversation as a potential complement to gold.

In the United States, Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that funding for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve “can start anytime,” citing President Trump’s executive order designating Bitcoin as a national reserve asset. The Treasury currently manages approximately 200,000 BTC—worth roughly $17 billion—under a budget-neutral framework using seized assets.

The House’s 2026 appropriations bill requires a 90-day Treasury study on custody, standards, and AI for sanctions enforcement. It also bans funds for a central bank digital currency. No further Bitcoin purchases are mandated beyond seized assets, leaving future reserve growth open for debate.

VanEck’s economic modeling projects that acquiring one million Bitcoin by 2029 could offset about 18% of the US national debt by 2049. CoinShares analysts suggest the reserve could strengthen technological leadership and offer inflation protection. Chainalysis economists, however, warn that simultaneous accumulation by many nations could affect market stability.

States and Nations Race to Build Bitcoin Reserves

Texas has already taken action. On November 20, it became the first US state to purchase Bitcoin for its treasury, acquiring $10 million through BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF when prices briefly dipped to $87,000. The move signals a growing appetite among state governments to treat Bitcoin as a strategic asset.

The momentum is not limited to America. Taiwan’s legislature has urged the government to audit its Bitcoin holdings and consider adding cryptocurrency to its strategic reserves, with Premier Cho Jung-tai pledging a detailed report by year-end. Lawmakers cited concerns about the island’s heavy reliance on U.S. dollar assets, which account for over 90% of its $602.94 billion in foreign reserves.

Deutsche Bank analysts project that Bitcoin could appear on central bank balance sheets by 2030, coexisting with gold as a complementary hedge against inflation and geopolitical risk. As nations race to secure both traditional and digital safe-haven assets, the global reserve landscape may be on the verge of a historic transformation.

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